The Turning Point

When Grant took over as the Union commander, he turned to the south to pursue and destroy Lee's army. What we learn from this now.

Even the victors and their heirs should not celebrate the anniversaries of important battles. Commemoration is as far as we should go. Both sides should remember the suffering of the soldiers.

Bruce Catton's A Stillness at Appomattox won the Pulitzer Prize for history and a National Book Award in 1954. Catton set a standard for history-writing, hailing uncommon bravery occasionally but focusing more on ordinary soldiers and mostly honoring their common endurance of the unendurable. The title refers less to the guns...